When you read the biographies of early tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, who ended up becoming rich and famous beyond their wildest dreams, they often all say something similar. They all say something along the lines of “The times in my life when I was struggling, poor and working in my garages was the happiest time of my life”. I have often thought a lot about this idea in the last few years while in the crypto community and wonder, is right now the time I will look back on in my life as the happiest?
If by some small chance Steemit and other cryptocurrencies become so mainstream that the majority of the world knows about and uses them, would be still be as happy? Albeit we might become rich and we might be able to buy nice things, but the feeling of the small community we have now might disappear completely. Corporations and money people will take over the space and the early adopters and early movers will no longer have this niche community to call home. Especially in Steemit right now, I feel like I matter and like I’m playing a role in something important, but how will that change if the mainstream comes? I’m not saying something going mainstream is a bad thing at all, in fact it’s a very good thing for the world and the decentralize everything movement as a whole. I’m just saying maybe what we really crave is recognition and to part of something first and money second.
There was a very similar occurrence that has happened with bitcoin in the past few years as you started to see many of the extremely early, crypto anarchist adopters, retreat from the space. As soon as the bitcoin platform became worth billions of dollars and captured the interest of mainstream banks and regulators, some very early adopters wanted nothing to do with it. There was a debate that is still going on whether or not bitcoin users or companies should even comply or acknowledge regulators, but it seems mostly that the side who wishes to comply has won. Many people see regulation as a stepping stone to becoming mainstream and once that happens, much more wealth will move into the system. Whether or not this is true, it seems to have pushed away many of the early adopters that loved bitcoin for the small movement it was in the early days.
You also hear this same sort of fondness when people talk about the early internet and what an experience it was to be there. Today the internet has evolved into something few imagined it could be and in almost every way is much more robust than the early internet, but it lacks the community feeling. New inventions and creations were being made every day and it was a time that was beyond exciting to people who had been mostly pegged as outcasts with a niche hobby. Andreas Antonopoulos talks about feeling the same way about bitcoin now as he did in the early internet days and although I wasn’t there to experience it with him, I can relate to what he is talking about.
Right now in the blockchain space, every day brings wonder and amazement to my life. I have spent the better part of 4 years now obsessed with the technology and what has been going on here and watching it grow. I feel like a part of a small group of innovators and forward thinkers that are going to change the world. I may be poor now, but I am happy just being here and interacting with all of you. I don’t know what the future holds for me or for any of us, but if I become wealthy or even if everything collapses, I have a strange feeling that I will look back and remember this as the happiest time of my life.
-Calaber24p
This is a great question.
I think people love the struggle and challenges of everyday life even if they don't really realise it at the time.
These ups and downs not only provide contrast in our lives but they make us appreciate every little bit of joy and pleasure more.
They work hard purely because they want to and for themselves. There isn't a whole company full of people relying on what they do.
Once you have lots of money and complete financial security I think it dilutes out the pleasure you get from things. When you no longer need to really struggle and work as hard to get the things you want I think you start to value them less.
I also think when people are still striving they actually have more control over their time. It may seem counterintuitive but they don't have to answer to board members, employees, shareholders etc. In some ways they have more control over the day to day aspects of their lives. They are more "free".
Once people succeed there may be a certain loss of the ability to be impulsive and live in the moment. Having lots of meetings, engagements and commitments may detract from this and seem very stifling.
It is an interesting paradox.
Yeah I think that we as human beings need something to be challenged by. We might not realize it at the time but money won't necessarily bring happiness. I like Jim Carey's quote on the subject when he says "I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer"
As noted country singer Chris Janson says, "Money can't buy happiness, maybe so, but it can buy me a boat"
Yes that's a great quote. I think it's like when you are a kid and there is something really big you want for Christmas. Your excitement is really great just up to Christmas and when you finally get it but soon afterwards you realise it wasn't as great as you thought it was and the idea of it was greater than the actual toy. Being rich is kind of like that except you really lose out on the anticipation part and just cut straight to the disillusionment. That's why you can see some wealthy people dedicate there lives to philanthropy - it gives them true pleasure and they can experience the joys of life through other's eyes.
I agree with this reply completely. Most people that have alot of money and do not have to struggle or go without basic necessities, tend to only value the money after awhile. I feel this is because they know that they can get whatever the material thing is that they desire, so the object of their desire tends to be more for the money. Money is hapiness for some people, without it they are just plain, old miserable.
The other side of the fence has the person trying to attain what the wealthy on the other side already have. Systems of classes has been around for ages, and I really don't feel that a rich man ever stops loving his money more than let's say peace of mind. Supply and Demand mean everything in our society, it's what this country was built off of for sure.
When your money supply is high, you dont need things as much as someone with a low money supply. You are not in demand for alot of different products and services because the money supply is high. In contrast when the money supply is low, the demand for even basic necessities is very high. I honestly feel that living in the moment, is something people with little money can't do, because they are always thinking about the other moments when the bills are due and they can barely pay them.
It's strange the feeling. I don't have many cryptos, I am not rich but yet I feel an enrichment. Humanity is one step closer to freedom, solidarity and democracy. I have that feeling that soon we will see things happening damn fast
I can relate (in a way) to what you are saying. Many years ago I used to work for (simply as an employee) a software development company. The Company was young but doing well. We were small in number but enjoying the work, the internal tight family feel.
Eventually with success came expansion = wagons of new employees
Eventually bigger publisher bought the Company... then another bigger fish bought that publisher, then again... :)
From a small group of developers, it became a sort of colder, corporate style life. No closeness. Colder internal relations.
Yes, bigger income. But it wasn't as much fun.
yeah I think this is the sentiment a lot of people feel when they have a company that grows larger. It turns from a family into a real business.
I think that 'corporate' feeling is because the big guys usually got there by dirty methods such as buying laws using lobbyists. There is definitely a factor of limiting scale in a true free market economy that keeps this from going away. That constant race for the next big thing is a big part of what makes it such an enjoyable and motivating experience.
I saw something not very long ago which stated that due to constant seeking for happiness, humans are generally hard wired never to actually get it, even if they achieve the thing they believe will make them happy. It's like an inherent grass-is-greener syndrome that we can't quite shake.
It seems to take a lot of self-control of one's emotions, mentality, and resolve to truly find that they are happy - right now, right here. Almost as if the persistent illusion of a future (when it seems all there is is right NOW) is what develops an incessant thorn of anxiety which won't leave us alone, and any moment tainted by anxiety or generally any negative feelings about one's immediate situation is a moment worth being free of...something has to be better than this, right? But each and every moment is an expression of what your life can be.
The question then becomes - do I take this moment and make it be something? Or do I sit as a mere observer and let things happen to me?
Or as Robert Anton Wilson would say,
This is really sad, it makes you wonder if our entire existence is a cruel joke sometimes. I completely agree though, finding happiness within is probably the best way to achieve it, but its also the hardest. Ill admit im constantly believing that the future will be better if I just make it through today and slowly I am realizing that I wasted many opportunities for happy memories because of that. Im only 23 so im trying to change that, but its very hard.
I've only just started with Steemit and cryptocurrency and it's been slow going. It is a lot to learn and understand. Plus I have to learn to write better. All in all I'm having fun doing it and meeting new people. I feel very happy about what little I have accomplished so far. I could say in the future that this might have been one of my happiest moments or maybe I'll get lucky and keep being happy the whole time. Who knows for now?
Find your community within the whole. In other words, find what brings you JOY and go there. It is exciting to be on the ground-ing level of Steemit. Some day we may look back and say, "Those were the good old days!" Or, maybe we are saying that now.
Yeah I agree I definitely am making some core friendships within the community now that will hopefully stick together if steemit gets much larger.
The important thing is that we learn to live our present. Often, opportunities represent risks, and we have to know how to deal with them.
These times are a lot of risks, but more opportunities than ever before seen. Which of them you want to stay. In the end, the most sure things keep changing.
Do not you believe it?
See you
I think a-lot of successful people often exaggerate their nostalgia prior to their breakthrough. Of course, human beings are wired to pursue things that we don't have and successful people are no different. Despite what they say, I wouldn't think many of them would go back to that life again and battle through it all if they could help it.
For me, I like to think that today is the happiest day of my life , but tomorrow is an even happier day. I cannot bare to think the consequences of living past point at which I thought I was at peak happiness. I would probably commit suicide..
Developers are drawn strongly to the freedom in anonymity, and a lack of responsibility to others (Instead, one's kindness to others is shaped by one's own will).
We are building something great, and we will continue to self-select activities that are in infancy. Once steem is the main player, our drive will kick in to make another part of humanity better.
There's definitely something pure about not having much money. Improving your life is in some ways elusive, because your standards go up. When you make these improvements in terms of like your health and your growth as a person, I think it has an effect that kind of snowballs on itself and does make you happier. Money though is just one-dimensional, where you pretty quickly just get used to it and have different standards to feed.
And then if you expected things were going to be better with more money, you probably were ignoring other things that might have done more for you.
I think getting your hands on money is perfectly good and can be used to make you better off. You just can't see it as more than a tool. Those people who said they were happier when they were struggling probably were looking towards money as something it is not. And when they were poor in their garage, they were at least defaulted into not having that distraction.
I don't look back with fondness on the early days out of college, when I was struggling financially, trying to get a job that gave me health insurance and other benefits, and working three part-time jobs to make ends meet. At least, I don't look fondly on them because of the financial struggle. That part was such a hassle, and I'm still making my way up the financial ladder to where I WANT to be.
What I look back fondly on from those times is that everything was NEW. I was a new adult, newly on my own in a new world. Most of the things I was doing and experiencing were totally new to me. I was doing them for the first time. That's where the nostalgia comes. It's fun when everything is new.
Even though I have a lot of experience in the world now, and have definitely changed as a person over the years based on this experience, I still try to keep adding new experiences. Keeping things new means someday, I'll look back on THIS time with nostalgia, too. After all, it's been said happiness isn't bought by things, but by experiences. There are endless new experiences to be had in this universe.
If voluntaryism is done right, these small community spaces can always exist. For instance, I spend a lot of my FB time in groups that are exactly what you describe. It's all about surrounding yourself with people you love and engaging in projects that inspire you. Anything can be scaled down, into smaller cell groups. Just make that a part of your reality.
I think you are on to something. One of the happiest memories I have was when my wife and I were recently married and living in Nicaragua. We didn't have jobs. We just lived every day completely free. We'd go for a mile long walk every evening and stop and get a couple of tostadas which cost about five cents each. They tasted delicious!
I remember being so full of hope those days. Hope for a bright and happy future.
That is the same feeling I get now with Steemit.
I'll just leave it with another quote...
“It is better to cry in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.”
U may ask it to @dantheman as he has gone through similar phase in his life.
We could all be living happier then we could all ever imagine. But we have wealthy people who are psychotic and run this whole world we live in. I will be most happy when we all wake the fuck up and do something about it.
Thanks for your kind words, @calaber24p! For the moment we feel happy to have Steemit as our home, so enjoy! :o)
I heard in China they sell girlscout cookies in the grocery store. I bet that helps overall moral. Selling girl scout cookies in all stores would be a good start for the USA.
There are qualities that make successful people. These are qualities we need to develop
Yes I believe that's true. I also think that many successful people are hardwired for it. Entrepeneurs are a rarity in our world & it always amazes me what drives them. I mean many that do become successful still continue to create new businesses & even self made millionaires still continue to work long hours & dream up new ideas. At what point does someone say themselves? I have enough done now & just go sit on a beach somewhere. Lottery winners for example would quit their job & do exactly that i'm sure. The million dollar question is what drives them & continues to drive them?
You are happy when you have dreams and goals not when you achieve them.
I think it just shows that you, like most of us here presently, have the temperament of a frontiersman or entrepreneur. Once something becomes common, its no longer a frontier but an established settlement. The excitement of the novelty is gone, and you go in search of something else new. Nothing wrong with it, this is how the world changes and this is why it changes.
This is why successful people usually will start another business so they can experience the struggle again. It would be nice to know that even if the new business does not succeed, I will still have millions to fall back on.